Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wattala and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Wattala: $574 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Wattala
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Wattala Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Wattala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$574

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wattala and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Wattala and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $574 per month in Wattala vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wattala $574
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $951 per month in Wattala vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wattala $951
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $1,328 per month in Wattala vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Wattala $1,328
Chiang Mai $1,999

Wattala is about 39% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Wattala and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Wattala 58% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.83 LKR 1,274

$2.13 ฿72.0

79.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.35 LKR 8,097

$18.62 ฿628

30.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.64 LKR 2,540

$5.60 ฿189

36.43%

Cappuccino

$2.48 LKR 824

$1.66 ฿56.1

49.40%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LKR 227

$0.65 ฿21.82

4.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.9

$0.30 ฿10.29

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 LKR 711

$2.32 ฿78.3

-7.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 LKR 1,011

$3.67 ฿124

-17.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 LKR 528

$2.02 ฿68.0

-21.29%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$1.41 ฿47.49

-61.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 256

$1.39 ฿46.94

-44.60%

Eggs

$1.64 LKR 545

$2.37 ฿79.9

-30.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.00 LKR 4,655

$16.52 ฿557

-15.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.75 LKR 1,581

$2.67 ฿90.1

77.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.34 LKR 2,440

$9.02 ฿304

-18.63%

Apples (1kg)

$6.41 LKR 2,132

$2.40 ฿80.9

167.08%

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 265

$1.04 ฿35.12

-23.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.37 LKR 1,452

$1.66 ฿56.0

163.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 LKR 422

$1.56 ฿52.6

-18.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 LKR 348

$1.24 ฿41.75

-15.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 256

$1.09 ฿36.65

-29.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 LKR 315

$0.76 ฿25.70

25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 143

$0.51 ฿17.34

-15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.26 LKR 3,411

$4.12 ฿139

149.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.73 LKR 4,235

$17.93 ฿605

-29.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 LKR 630

$1.62 ฿54.8

16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 LKR 965

$2.82 ฿95.2

2.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 LKR 66.4

$0.93 ฿31.52

-78.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$1.18 ฿39.69

-65.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 LKR 113

$0.17 ฿5.78

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 LKR 295

$1.81 ฿61.1

-50.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 LKR 376

$1.47 ฿49.67

-23.13%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$43.2K LKR 14.4M

$21.0K ฿708.7K

105.76%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.4K LKR 13.4M

$26.5K ฿894.4K

52.48%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

$62.6 ฿2,110

-5.79%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$4.18 LKR 1,391

$11.60 ฿391

-63.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.89 LKR 6,948

$20.30 ฿685

2.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.62 LKR 4,529

$37.88 ฿1,278

-64.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.57 LKR 1,519

$3.70 ฿125

23.51%

Cinema Ticket

$2.93 LKR 974

$6.51 ฿220

-54.99%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$37.76 LKR 12.6K

$727 ฿24.5K

-94.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,202 LKR 399.7K

$16.6K ฿559.0K

-92.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.04 LKR 5,999

$53.5 ฿1,806

-66.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.50 LKR 5,489

$24.80 ฿836

-33.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.3 LKR 25.7K

$90.4 ฿3,049

-14.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.08 LKR 14.0K

$72.0 ฿2,428

-41.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$104 LKR 34.6K

$481 ฿16.2K

-78.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$61.1 LKR 20.3K

$310 ฿10.5K

-80.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$241 LKR 80.2K

$1,058 ฿35.7K

-77.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$178 LKR 59.1K

$659 ฿22.2K

-73.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

5.57

127.83%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Wattala: November 3, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Wattala

$234 40.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 1.3% $3

Eating Out

Wattala

$104 18.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 26.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wattala

$84 14.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 12.4% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Wattala

$69 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 56.4% $39

Accommodation & Living

Wattala

$61 10.6%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 407% $249

Sport & Entertainment

Wattala

$19 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 161% $31

Getting Around

Wattala

$2.9 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 1916% $56

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $104 in Wattala versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Wattala versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Wattala vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Wattala wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Wattala

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:14 10:14 AM

11:44 11:44 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Wattala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,200

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Wattala Chiang Mai 2,450 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Wattala
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Wattala vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 63% more than Wattala, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $861 per month in Wattala and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Wattala, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $104 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $574 in Wattala and $935 in Chiang Mai. That makes Wattala about 39% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Wattala and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $574 in Wattala and $935 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Wattala – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.